STORY: "Toddler Nathaniel McLellan was being carried in ‘unorthodox’ way by babysitter, neighbour testifies," by Chief Investigative Reporter Kevin Donovan, published by The Toronto Star, on January 16, 2016. (Kevin Donovan is the Toronto Star’s Chief Investigative Reporter. His focus is on journalism that exposes wrongdoing and effects change. Over more than three decades he has reported on the activities of charities, government, police, business among other institutions. Donovan also reported from the battlefields in the Gulf War and the war in Afghanistan following 9/11. He has won three National Newspaper Awards, two Governor General’s Michener Awards, the Canadian Journalism Foundation award and three Canadian Association of Journalists Awards. As the Star’s editor of investigations for many years, Donovan led many award-winning projects for the paper. He is the author of several books, including “Secret Life: The Jian Ghomeshi Investigation” and the “Dead Times” (a fiction novel).)
SUB-HEADING: “The child’s face was facing towards the sidewalk and his feet were sticking, were hanging down,” manslaughter trial hears."
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Geoff Snow, Azevedo said he did not call police after seeing this. He told court that, at the time, he did not think it was “relevant.” Later, he learned that Nathaniel was the son of a beloved teacher at the school where his children attended. Azevedo told court he still did not call police, but was later interviewed after a Star investigation in 2021 mentioned what he had seen that morning. The OPP charged Van Hoof shortly after publication."
GIST: "A passing neighbour saw Nathaniel McLellan’s babysitter carrying him in an “unorthodox way,” his body facing forward with legs dangling as she hurried down a sidewalk in Strathroy, Ont., a manslaughter trial was told Friday.
Alvin Azevedo told a trial examining the conduct of babysitter Meggin Van Hoof that he briefly saw her late on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015. Azevedo, a postal worker, was on a day off and had picked up pizza to bring home for he and his wife. As he drove his vehicle along Head Street he noticed a woman he recognized as Van Hoof carrying a small child in one arm, pulling a wagon in the other, with a second child running along the front lawns beside the sidewalk.
“The child was facing forward, which I found peculiar,” said Azevedo, a father of three who also volunteered on the parent council at the local school. He described the way the child was being held as “unorthodox,” and said “the child’s face was facing towards the sidewalk and his feet were sticking, were hanging down.”
Van Hoof is facing a charge of manslaughter. The prosecution alleges that Van Hoof either caused the 15-month-old’s death with some overt action, or that she failed to assist him (including calling 911) when he became unwell at her home. Van Hoof has pleaded not guilty.
Earlier in the trial, Nathaniel’s mother, Rose-Anne Van De Wiele testified that Van Hoof (who ran an unlicensed daycare) contacted her at school just before noon that day and said Nathaniel had fallen and hit his head at her home, and was “acting strange.” Van Hoof ran the daycare out of her bungalow near the school where Van De Wiele taught. Van De Wiele told court that Van Hoof had said she would bring Nathaniel to her.
In his testimony Friday, Azevedo said that just before noon that morning in 2015 he witnessed Van Hoof (who he knew from the neighbourhood) carrying a small child in her left arm, with her arm under the child’s armpits. The child’s backside was against Van Hoof’s midriff, his legs were dangling, and Azevedo could not see the child’s face because his upper body and head were bent over Van Hoof’s arm.
He said the little boy was not wearing shoes or a coat. Azevedo said Van Hoof was pulling a wagon with her right hand. He said the wagon had something like a knapsack or a diaper bag in it. A small boy was running “erratically” over the lawns beside the sidewalk, following in the same direction Van Hoof was travelling. Court heard that she was travelling in the direction of the elementary school where Nathaniel’s mother taught.
Azevedo estimated he saw this activity in a space of five seconds, before he passed out of view. Court has heard that this took place just before Van Hoof met Nathaniel’s mother, who she had called to say Nathaniel was unwell.
Under cross-examination by defence lawyer Geoff Snow, Azevedo said he did not call police after seeing this. He told court that, at the time, he did not think it was “relevant.” Later, he learned that Nathaniel was the son of a beloved teacher at the school where his children attended. Azevedo told court he still did not call police, but was later interviewed after a Star investigation in 2021 mentioned what he had seen that morning. The OPP charged Van Hoof shortly after publication.
Court also heard from retired Dr. Wayne Johnson, the family doctor whose patients included Nathaniel, his three brothers and their parents. Johnson was asked by Crown attorney Meredith Gardiner about Nathaniel’s wellbeing and Rose-Anne Van De Wiele’s abilities as a parent.
Johnson said Nathaniel was up to date on all his vaccinations, he had never had any illnesses other than a cold, and Van De Wiele was a great mother.
“She was very, very good,” Johnson told court. “You can tell the way (Nathaniel) responded to her that they were a good pair. She knows what she’s doing. She’s very intelligent, very conscientious.”
Johnson said that after Nathaniel died (five days after he became unwell at the babysitter’s) his parents drove to his office to have a chat. He said both parents were crying, and at one point in the visit Van De Wiele mentioned that the night before she dropped him at Van Hoof’s there had been a “door bump” that had resulted in some “tears.” Johnson noted in court that he spoke to Van De Wiele about this and she told him he had a good night’s sleep, a normal dinner and “seemed to be himself when she dropped him at the babysitter.”
Johnson told court that he told the parents that this sort of a minor bump did not seem to have “any relevance” to Nathaniel’s eventual death. Court has heard testimony from the parents police initially focused on them as suspects and that related to this “door bump.”
Also Friday, an OPP identification officer presented to court a series of photos taken during a search of Van Hoof’s home two weeks after Nathaniel was rushed to hospital. The officer, Const. David Bates, also showed photos of Nathaniel during his autopsy. Bates pointed out a nine-centimetre mark on the left side of Nathaniel’s head.
Court has heard that Nathaniel suffered a major head injury. Medical experts will testify on the nature of that injury.
The identification officer, whose testimony has just begun, showed court a photo of a wall in the Van Hoof bungalow that had what appears to be an impact to the wall. It measured seven centimetres, and the officer pointed out that the drywall had been “breached.”
The trial before Judge Michael Carnegie will take a break and resume Feb. 9 with continued testimony from officer Bates.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/toddler-nathaniel-mclellan-was-being-carried-in-unorthodox-way-by-babysitter-neighbour-testifies/article_04a98c14-017e-4c3f-af88-e548c4d01063.htmlhttps://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/toddler-nathaniel-mclellan-was-being-carried-in-unorthodox-way-by-babysitter-neighbour-testifies/article_04a98c14-017e-4c3f-af88-e548c4d01063.html
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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